What to Expect for Your First Berlin Marathon

The Berlin Marathon is one of the World Marathon Majors, and likely the most underrated of the bunch. It is a fantastic event to kick off Oktoberfest, it is flat and fast, and the energy is electric. It was my first international race so I was curious to see how logistics and runner support would differ than my experiences running New York City Marathon or my hometown Dallas races.

If it is your first time running Berlin, or perhaps first time running an international marathon, here are the things you should know before September:

1. The course is FLAT

This is one of the biggest selling points of Berlin Marathon and they love to promote it as fast and flat as well. In their race app you can even model a potential race time based on your best marathon or half marathon on another course. This is the first marathon (and I’ve done 3 prior) that I didn’t feel dead after. It was do-able. Not being entirely destroyed after a marathon was a new feeling and I largely attribute it to the lack of elevation. This was even more meaningful at the end of the race when things start to fall apart at the 20 mile mark. New York had some legend hills in the Bronx and through Central Park, whereas Berlin was a cruise to the finish line.

2. You need to download the Marathon App

Normally I’m very anti-downloading any new apps on my phone. Don’t make me download an app to order takeout, right? This is the exception. Having the Berlin Marathon race app was critical to have your subway pass on hand, expo logistics, your race day logistics and your corral time. The website is less organized than the app is and they really position it more towards runners than they do toward spectators. Save yourself the confusion and download it sooner rather than later.

3. You can sleep in and arrive to the start line right before

My wave started at 9:30….9:30!! There was something almost unnatural about being able to sleep in? It didn’t work very well because I still panic woke up every hour between 3am and 6am, but in theory you could get a very full night of sleep before the race and not worry about logistics or early start times. The Brandenburg Gate start line is one of the most accessible locations via public trans

4. The subway picks up and drops off at the runner’s village

The start line is at the Brandenburg Gate, which is a big sight seeing destination for tourists visiting Berlin. That means all subway lines basically get you to the Brandenburg Gate station. Don’t be a moron like me and GPS yourself to the coordinates of the start line, because I ended up taking one stop past Brandenburg Gate and had to walk through a city park (probably 1mi) to get to the start village. Some other goofballs did the same thing as me, but GPS yourself to Brandenburg gate for the start village and not the start line.

5. The weather is a warm 50 degrees

I panic purchased a long sleeve shirt the day before the race because I was worried I’d be cold on the start line and for the first few miles. This ended up being far from the case. I wore sweats and a pullover I planned to leave behind and ran in my singlet tank top and biker shorts the entire race. It is mostly exposed until the final few miles through tall buildings, so you will have the benefit of sunshine warming you on the course. It was very comfortable to run in and a refreshing change from being frozen at the start.

6. Bathrooms are chaos at the start village

I still don’t understand why there were only 4 porta potties at the start village. As soon as I arrived in the morning I immediately got in line. It took over an hour to get to the front of the line, and I should have just held it and gone to the corral. I didn’t realize there are way more porta potties along the actual start line than there are in the start village.

Another shocker – this is the first time I’ve seen men’s portable urinals?? There were like 6 pods in a circle, yet in the open, for men to use. Great if you’re a guy who just needs to pee, but a huge bummer if you’re a lady or have some other business to attend to.

7. You need to pay attention to your corral time

There were no announcements telling runners to walk to the corrals, and the corrals are probably a 20min walk away from gear check. You have to be responsible for yourself or you will miss your start time. I was surprised by the lack of announcements and general crowd management at the start, but then also had an appreciation that we weren’t being babied. You have to take ownership of getting yourself there on time.

8. Food and bathrooms every mile

What they didn’t have at the start village, they made up for on the course. I was stunned by how many bathrooms, food and water were available along the course. The first 5K you won’t see anything, but it seemed almost every mile thereafter there were bathrooms and nutrition. I used the first porta potty I saw and grabbed two bananas along my run. You’re never lacking for resources along the way.

9. You’re always surrounded by runners and spectators

I had a lower expectation of Berlin’s crowds after running NYC twice, but they SHOWED UP. It is always quiet as you start since spectators usually aren’t allowed near the start line and they prioritize other parts of the race, but once we got out of the Brandenburg park area, folks lined the streets the entire time. Kids were banging pots and pans, people were enjoying a pint or glass of Riesling, and the entire city was enjoying the spectacle of all these runners. For the first half marathon I didn’t listen to music since I wanted to just soak in the crowd energy. It was only after that halfway point that I put earbuds in to have some supportive music in the background.

10. Public Transit is free the week of the Race

Save down the transit form they provide you so that you can show a traffic person if you need to, but the great thing is that my race bib and transit form provided by the race allowed me to go to the expo, around to tourist destinations and show up to race day for free. One of their initiatives is to reduce the environmental impact of the race and it saved us a lot of money on ubers and other forms of transportation to be able to get mine covered by the race.

11. Free massages after the race

This is the first race I’ve seen offering truly free massages, not just pre-paid races like I’ve seen at my Half Ironman. Bless the masseuses hearts though, the amount of stinky legs they are massaging. The cool thing is that massage tables were available at different points during the race as well if runners were dealing with cramps and needed some quick work to get back in the run. I’m an efficiency gal, so the thought of flopping onto a massage table after the race and making my spouse wait on me was not for me personally.

12. The Family Reunion is so easy

Compared to NYC marathon, the Berlin family reunion is the easiest I’ve ever experienced. They had letters marked in an open field just beyond the secure runner zone, and the subway is 10 feet from the family reunion. My spouse was timed perfectly with a hot cheesy pretzel waiting to take me to Burgermeister. New York required runners to walk 40 city blocks before getting to the exit and family reunion, and it is always chaos. This was a welcome change from my previous races.

I am so excited for Berlin first timers, what an amazing race to participate in! We are three months away at the time I am writing this, and I wish you all the best of luck! Let me know if there are any new tips or suggestions you would include after race day.